Child of a Better Earth
by illmatchtheminrenown
Summary: The Doctor hasn't seen Elizabeth in a long time. Who is this mystery woman, and how does he know her? A bit of a cross-over from my Torchwood "Every Day" series.


**A/N:** Hi all! So this story takes place in the "Every Day" universe, a couple decades after "On Loyalty." If you haven't read them, no worries, just know that the Doctor rescued Ianto after CoE, healed him with the side effect of immortality like Jack's, and the full Torchwood team was put back together again. I hope you enjoy, and, as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

* * *

He was only steps away from the blue door when a woman's voice called out and, to his surprise, called him by name in a lilting Welsh accent.

"Doctor? It is you, isn't it?" He turned to face the questioner, an unfamiliar young woman with dark hair. Seeing his confusion, she added, "It's me. It's Elizabeth." Upon hearing her name, recognition dawned and a smile spread over his face.

"Elizabeth! It _is _you! I haven't seen you since you were a little girl!" he cried, genuinely pleased to see her and hugging her with affection.

"Ten years, yeah. Last time we saw you, I was ten."

"Has it really been that long?" When Elizabeth nodded, he smiled and said, "Then the least I can do is invite you in for a few." With the mischievous grin that never changed, he opened the door and gestured for her to come in, following after her.

Elizabeth looked around, remembering the familiar place from her childhood, as he led her towards a kitchen. As they passed the glowing console, she couldn't help gazing at it with a deep and slightly morbid curiousity.

"Sorry, I haven't got much here. But there's coffee…which I haven't made…Uh…" The Doctor trailed off, awkwardly looking around. With a smile, Elizabeth crossed to the counter.

"That's alright. I make a mean cup of coffee."

* * *

As she worked, the Doctor gazed at the young woman. Now that he looked more closely, he couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her; she looked so much like one of her parents, with her clear blue-gray eyes and slightly squared features. And judging by the impeccable neatness of her dark brown hair and perfectly-fitting clothes, he thought with a smirk, she had inherited her father's obsessive precision as well. But the second man who had raised her was also evident in every line of her body. Though she shared no genes with him, her confident posture and disarming smile were just like his.

"So are your parents with you?" the Doctor asked, taking a sip. She hadn't been exaggerating- she really did make excellent coffee. Elizabeth shook her head.

"Nah, just me. Off from university for the summer so I came to see me mum and Uncle Rhys." She paused, almost imperceptibly. "Dad and Papa are off on a job, so I'll catch them another time." The Doctor noticed her slight frown.

"You don't like their work?" She set down her cup.

"It's not that. I mean, I'd like to join someday. And I know nothing can_really _happen to them. But still…" she trailed off. He finished her sentence.

"You worry." She nodded. He tentatively touched her arm in a comforting gesture. "You know, I've met a lot of people. A _lot. _And in all that time, I've never seen two people who make a better team than your fathers. They keep each other safe, and they always will. Trust me." He got up to clear the cups away.

Getting up, Elizabeth meandered over to a shelf where a few pictures sat in uniform, simple frames. She recognized one from her own home, of two handsome men each pressing a kiss to the cheek of the pink-clad baby between them. Smiling faintly, she looked to the other photos. In most of them, a man beamed with his arm around one other person (in one case, two). A redhead with a kind face and an expression of sisterly affection. A Black girl with warm eyes. A laughing young man and a feisty redhaired girl. She paused on one picture, picking it up. At first glance, it didn't seem different, but she could tell it was special. Instead of an arm thrown casually across his companion's shoulder, the handsome man and his young companion had both arms wrapped around each other, his chin resting on her blonde head and both wearing a slightly different smile.

"This one's different. It's Rose Tyler, right?" she asked. Turning to see what she held, the Doctor tensed, then nodded. "I was partly named for her, you know," she added, deliberately avoiding the topic of the emotion in the picture.

The Doctor relaxed slightly. "Of course. Roseanne's your middle name, yeah?"

"Yeah. Mum picked my first name, but Dad and Papa picked Rosalie. Rose for her, and Ali is what Dad called…"

"…Alice. Of course they did," he finished, remembering a certain invasion and its terrible consequences. Looking at her, he asked the question that had been bothering him since she showed up.

"Elizabeth? Has it… Have you been alright, having, you know, a different sort of life?"

Her brow creased as she answered slowly. "It's all I've known, so yeah. I mean," she continued, sitting back down, "I've met other kids who were raised like me- two dads, born to a surrogate. We've all heard the jokes- born from a petri dish, lab experiments, you know-" The Doctor's face darkened protectively- "-but from the start, our family was different. Me mum, she's always been around, and Uncle Rhys too. She didn't have me as a business deal- she had me so her two best friends could have me. I guess I've sort of had four parents, 'stead of two. And that's not even counting Uncle Owen and Aunt Tosh."

"And the rest" The- other thing?"

"You mean- who they are, what they do? Well, it is weird, that my parents don't age. Not sure how I'll feel once I look older than them. But, like I said, it's all I know. And they're still my dads. Plus," she added, a wicked grin breaking over her face, "parents in that line of work means you learn to fight and handle a gun pretty young."

"Like adventure, do you?" the Doctor asked, an idea coming to mind.

"'Course I do," Elizabeth replied. The Doctor thought for a moment. Her fathers might not be particularly thrilled, but it's not like they had room to talk. One of them had done the very same thing! And she could obviously fend for herself- with those parents, he'd hardly expect otherwise. And there was just something about her- He made his decision."

"Elizabeth Jones-Harkness, would you like to come with me?" He offered his hand to the daughter of Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones, two of the bravest men and best friends he'd ever known.

Like many others before her, she only hesitated briefly before taking his hand.

"Yes."

THE END (for now…)


End file.
